


Partners

by megyal



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fluff, Humor, Jealousy, M/M, Partnership, Possessive Behavior, Veela
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-05-22
Updated: 2007-05-22
Packaged: 2017-10-23 14:53:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/251557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megyal/pseuds/megyal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Draco (with glasses!) and Harry are assigned partners during Auror training; Veela!Draco with suddenly attracted and irritated!Harry. (requested by: <span><a href="http://lovebuggin.livejournal.com/profile"><img/></a><a href="http://lovebuggin.livejournal.com/"><b>lovebuggin</b></a></span>)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Partners

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [](http://slashfest.livejournal.com/profile)[**slashfest**](http://slashfest.livejournal.com/). Beta-read by [](http://ruinithil.livejournal.com/profile)[**ruinithil**](http://ruinithil.livejournal.com/). Any remaining mistakes are my own.

"This training," Harry yelled in Ron's ear with barely contained glee, "is going to be _awesome_."

Ron rolled his eyes as he ended the concealment charm on the old flying bike that Sirius had left to Harry; this morning he'd asked to borrow it while Harry was starting Auror training.

"Sure," Harry had grinned at him around a mouthful of cereal, taking the key out of his trouser-pocket and levitating it over to Ron's open palm. "Just take care of my Baby."

Right now, Baby was making a slightly bumpy landing in the fore-court of the drab trainee building. Harry gave Ron a quick hug from behind before getting off the bike and pulling the helmet off his head. His hair stuck up in wild abandon and Ron snickered as he took the helmet and stowed it away.

Harry peered at his reflection in the nearest rear-view mirror and tried to neaten it.

"Yeah, because _that'll_ work," Ron said dryly, revving the bike. Harry glared at him and then pursed his lips, pouting.

"Give us a kissy, luv," he teased and then laughed at Ron's crinkled nose. "Hermione told me to say that... said you'd look like one of my boyfriends dropping me off at school."

"You’ve been through far too many boyfriends, by the way," Ron lectured, helping to pat down Harry's hair. "You need to settle down, or something. Find a nice boy."

"Yes, Mum Molly."

"Oh, fuck off," Ron said, kicking Harry in the shin before driving off too quickly for Harry to react. He heard Harry's curses and grinned, shifting gears into _up_ and re-casting the concealment charm.

Harry rubbed his abused leg and hobbled into the large forbidding double-doors. There was a long corridor stretched in front of him, dark and low; to his right, a small group of wizards and witches were seated on benches beside a glassed-in booth, writing furiously on long parchment. In the very back row, a bright head raised and clear grey eyes locked with Harry's.

"Malfoy?!" Harry screeched and Malfoy blinked at him languidly. _From behind glasses_. Malfoy had on a slightly square pair, the thin frames slipping down his thin nose. Harry pushed his own back up and stared.

"Yes?" Malfoy took the feathery end of his quill and brushed across his mouth, raising one eyebrow curiously. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Harry gaped at him as a frowning witch in a long blue robe came out from behind the booth and shoved a form into his hand, ordering him to sit down and fill it out. A wizard moved over a little to make space right in front of Malfoy; he took it reluctantly, cast a charm to make the parchment rigid and began to fill out his personal information.

He could almost feel Malfoy's presence pressing into the skin of his neck and when Malfoy gave a slight sigh, he temporarily forgot what to put in the section marked _Name of closest relative or guardian in case of accident_. Harry frowned, berating himself as he recalled it and filled it in. ( _Remus Lupin, werewolf ID #: RL87621_ ).

Almost as soon as he finished with it, the little old witch bustled out of her booth, which was cramped full of files and collected their parchment. She tapped on each one with her wand and made a copy with a muttered _Effingo_ ; one was stowed quickly into a file-jacket hovering beside her. Harry watched in interest as she made the other copy fold itself into a small rectangle, then transfigured it into sturdy, flat identification card, pinning it to the front of their robes. It was all very neat and quick. After the last person had their ID done, she told them to make their way to the second room on their left.

Harry stood up and waited to one side, grabbing onto Malfoy's elbow and giving him a little shake as he tried to push past Harry.

"What the _hell_ are you doing here, Malfoy? Don't you have somewhere... to be... so very pretty?" Harry stared up into his face, not noticing the look of dismay flicker across the pale features. He tightened his hold on Malfoy's arm. "Hey, Draco. I'm going to be the best Auror in the class."

"He lies," a tiny witch hissed to their left and Harry turned to snarl at her. How _dare_ she. She ignored him, however, and beamed at Harry's prize; Harry made to step on her and she skittered a little to the side. " _I'm_ going to be the best in class."

"Okay," Draco said slowly and then made a deep exhale. In one moment, Harry was literally contemplating the best way to eviscerate this witch and all the others staring besottedly in their direction; in the next, he was dropping Draco's arm as if burnt. "Sorry about that, Potter. I'm still not quite used to controlling this Veela-thing yet."

"What Veela-thing? You're a _Veela_?" Harry thought a little more and then latched onto something even more strange. "And did you just _apologise_ to me?"

Malfoy looked appalled at himself.

"Lapse in judgement," he said quickly, adjusting his glasses and peering angrily down at Harry. "It won't happen again, Potter. _Trust_ me on that."

He slipped past Harry to the classroom. Harry blinked four times and then made his way slowly to class, making sure to sit right next to Malfoy.

  
 **:: :: ::**  


"Auror training!" Moody glared at each of his students and Harry winced a little at his penchant for talking in constant exclamation. "Not an easy course. I will not be surprised when three-quarters you drop out next month. Not surprised!"

Most of the class jumped at this. Harry closed his eyes briefly.

"Some of you will be placed in Advanced Procedures for your experience in the war. By some, I mean two: Potter," Moody snarled and Harry's mouth quirked up, knowledgeable in Moody-talk: that particular snarl meant _proud of you, my boy_. "And Malfoy."

Harry held his breath a little. Moody was giving the exact same snarl for Malfoy. He hadn't known the exact reason why Malfoy had reluctantly dragged himself over to the Order, but now it was obvious that Veela-ness wasn't that compatible to Death Eater status; and Shacklebolt had often told Harry that Malfoy made a great tactician. A lot of their nasty, underhanded manoeuvres had come from him.

Harry was now wondering what it would have been like if he and Malfoy had been assigned in the same unit, working close together every day. He thought about the bright halo that was Malfoy's hair; maybe it would have been shorter then and dirty with the smoky air of battle, smudges of dirt on that pale skin as he pored over maps and forced little plastic men into battle-positions. Maybe Malfoy's tongue would poke out slightly, just as it was doing now while they were taking notes, the pink tip of it shocking and titillating; and now Malfoy's lips were moving, arching around vowels obscenely and Harry smiled.

"Stop _staring_ and pay attention, nitwit," Malfoy hissed at him. "God. I'm not even using my charms on you."

"And don't you ever try," Harry retorted inanely. "Don't charm me, Malfoy, I mean it."

"Wouldn't waste my time, Potter," Malfoy said stonily. Harry gave him a standard glare, eyes narrowed and mouth thin, before returning his attention to Moody.

"What have I always said?" Moody was saying, clomping back and forth the front of the blackboard, his magical eye spinning excitedly. " _Constant vigilance_. And sometimes, you need someone to watch your back. Partners!" He cried and the class looked weary of jumping. "Trust them as you would trust yourself. Protect them as you would protect yourself. And it is possible that you would become an old, bold Auror."

No-one dared to ask Moody about _his_ partner as he fished a long tube of parchment from the top drawer of the grumpy desk, which tried to slam the drawer on Moody's fingers. Moody gave it a surreptitious kick as he unfurled the paper and held it down to read out names aloud.

"Alfernium...and Zoarast. Brandley..and Willemson. Calpernium and Trask." He looked up at the blank faces of his class and scowled. "Well? Sit with your partner!" He continued to read out pairs as the class shuffled and peered at each other's ID cards before sitting together. Harry felt a resigned sort of dread as the names boiled down to only two.

"Malfoy and Potter. Excellent," Moody boomed and Malfoy ran a hand through his hair, completely distracting Harry. Of _course_ Malfoy was turning on the charm, that bastard; but Harry wasn't good at throwing off _Imperius_ for nothing. As far as he could figure, the call of a Veela was similar to the deceptive comfort of an _Imperius_ command; with a little effort, Harry would be more than able to resist whatever Malfoy was putting on him, even if it meant ignoring that slender arch of Malfoy's neck, or the way those glasses made the grey of his eyes brighter.

" _Staring_ again," Malfoy warned, but it wasn't as sharp as it could have been. He might have been smirking companionably; Harry wasn't too sure.

"I wasn't." He sounded a bit petulant and Malfoy shook his head.

"This is how you were looking at me, Potter," Malfoy said and used one finger to push his glasses up on his nose. He ran his hand through his hair again, mussing it this time in a neat mockery of Harry's own and then stared at Harry with a dreamy expression. Something in Harry's groin decided to corkscrew in delight at the fixation of Malfoy's eyes on him, until Malfoy's gaze dissolved into a snide glare. "You're going to want to stop that. Makes me feel dirty."

Harry opened his mouth to retort but Moody was now yelling something at them about _multiple layers of defensive charms and will Potter and Malfoy give him some goddamn ATTENTION_ and to Harry's disgust, he actually jumped with the rest of the class this time.

  
 **:: :: ::**  


"Veela," Ron said thoughtfully, munching his way through a bowl of peanuts as he and Harry nursed their third beer, each. "Oh. Ok, so that would explain that time in the library."

"Yeah and he's _using_ his _charms_ on me, I swear, for what reason, I do not--" Harry stopped and then stared at Ron, whose face was competing with his hair. "Wait. What?!"

"It was...God, Harry, we were in the same unit. Tactical," Ron muttered. "And you had come into the Black library to see me, remember? The night before the Oxford attack?" Harry nodded numbly and Ron went on, not meeting his eyes. "And you left, because you and Malfoy got to arguing and all of a sudden I was all over him. It was embarrassing, let me tell you. He was just as sorry as I was, by the way. Said he'd just matured as a part-Veela and it was giving him hell, with the pheromones and all."

"Let me get this straight," Harry said, watching as Ron took a long swig of beer. "You, Ron Weasley, _made out_ with Draco Malfoy?"

"Could you keep this between you and me?" Ron stole a look at the other patrons of the Hogshead and then made a wry face. "It was an _accident_. A nice accident, though. With tongue."

"Tongue," Harry echoed weakly and then hyperventilated a little. It was mostly to fight down the raging wave of jealousy that barrelled up through him; there was one part of him that was itching to take his best friend by the throat and just _squeeze_. Another part of him wrestled with this newly homicidal section of his nature, reminding him of all those times that Ron had never let him down.

"Well," Ron continued, munching slowly while completely unaware of Harry's internal battle. "I'm bonded to Susan now, so his charms won't work on me again."

"Thank Merlin," Harry growled and drank deeply as Ron gave him a curious look.

  
 **:: :: ::**  


Ron dropped Harry off at the Auror headquarters nearly every day for the rest of the week, just because Harry liked the feel of the wind in his hair and the harsh rumble of the bike's powerful engine; also, the HQ's Floo-system only had a one-way Floo connection which went _out_ but didn't come _in_. Vigilance, of course, with a few dark wizards still slinking about.

Friday, Ron landed right on in the centre of the courtyard that had the Auror's seal and motto displayed in coloured cobblestones: a Sneakoscope with the phrase _In umbra, igitur, pugnabimus_ printed on the horizontal axis. Malfoy had been walking towards the entrance, just managing to step aside as the large front tire screeched.

"Nice landing, Weasel," Malfoy said, hunching his shoulders in a luxuriant blue coat as Harry hopped off and stowed his helmet away. His hair brushed at the high collar as he gave Harry an unreadable glance and then flashed a small genuine smile at Ron, teeth white and even. Harry felt the bottom of his stomach fall out, in shock and something uncomfortably close to a mournful rage.

"I learned from the best, Ferret." Ron grinned back wholeheartedly, jerking his chin at Harry and then frowned at Harry's stormy glower. "What? What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," Harry said flatly. "Have a nice day, Ron."

"Yes, dear," Ron teased and Harry shook his head, laughing a little. Ron always knew how to get him out of a funk. He stepped back to let Ron take Baby back into the air and walked off, hearing Malfoy's steps behind him as he strode across the cobblestones and up the short flight of stairs through the double doors. He nodded at the receptionist, old Mrs. Stonewall that had made their ID's on that first day; she sniffed at them both and then returned to her never-ending task of filing.

Entering their class, Harry noted that it had changed shape for this session. He was glad that he had remembered to check his timetable this morning and had managed to dress accordingly for sparring. He liked sparring, a lot. Their first session had been on Wednesday evening; a little wiry man who was called Ishimura and spoke in extremely formal tones had put them through a gruelling two hours, correcting stances and teaching quick defensive and offensive moves. Harry had been praised for his reflexes and Malfoy for an impressive show of strength, more than likely enhanced from being a Veela.

Harry made his way over to the lockers at the back of the classroom, pulling off his robe to stuff inside the locker that opened to his touch only, brushing his hand over the black track pants and plain blue t-shirt he had on as Malfoy did the same, folding his cloak neatly.  
Harry looked at him out of the corner of his eye as they stood leaning against the walls near one of the tall windows, watching the rest of the class stream in, chattering. He had taken off his glasses and was cleaning them absently on the hem of his own shirt, the muscles of his arm flexing attractively as he moved his hand. Harry resisted the urge to clean his own lenses as Malfoy replaced his glasses on his face, tilting his head a little to look right at Harry.

"I'm not staring," Harry said before Malfoy could open his mouth, sounding a little breathless. "I was just wondering about the glasses."

Malfoy made a face.

"I was always near-sighted, Potter," he finally ground out, eyes flickering over their classmates. "But I used an _oculos emendo_ charm. You should really try that, by the way. Anyhow, Veelas tend to throw off charms like that."

"So all this time calling me a speccy git," Harry chortled, smiling at Malfoy's grimace. "Welcome to the club. And I've _tried_ those charms. They don't work on me, either. Hermione once said my magic was a little too wild for it."

Malfoy's eyes fixed on his hair and Harry rolled his eyes.

" _Ohayou_. Good morning, my class," Ishimura said serenely as he sailed in, his black robes fluttering about a compact body. Harry had a sudden recollection of Snape and stole a look at Malfoy, who was looking right back, smiling slightly. Harry flushed.

"Please split pairs today," Ishimura said. "You must get used to diverse sorts of attacks. Different methods need different reactions."

Harry shoved off the wall and the tiny witch who had wanted to take Malfoy from him came up, smiling belligerently. She reminded him of that little Crup that one of the Patil twins had taken to carrying around in a large purple handbag. The Crup was nearly all teeth and temperamental, snapping when Harry had tried to pet it.

"Calpernium," Harry greeted neutrally and she glared at him. Harry took up offensive stance first, being a higher ranking student and she launched her attack. She was trying to prove she was worthy of being reclassified into Advanced Procedures with Harry and Malfoy, thus her attack was sneakily rapid, her little fist pummelling into Harry's chest and sides. He rolled with them easily, blocking the majority. He was used to absorbing pain and was only vaguely aware of all the other pairs pausing and watching them. He could feel Malfoy's eyes rest heavily on him and for some reason Calpernium struck out harder.

He felt his cheek suddenly flame in four hot lines as she slashed him with her fingernails, narrowly missing his eye and knocking off his glasses. He had his hand out to block her next attack, realising almost instinctively that she would follow with a matching slash from her other hand; then he heard a low growl and she was flung away from him, almost crashing into the opposite wall. Ishimura had his wand out in an instant, a short knarled branch, levitating Calpernium safely before lowering her to the floor. She stared back at Harry in shock as Malfoy grabbed him around the waist from behind and dragged him into a deep windowed alcove.

"Malfoy?" Harry stiffened as Malfoy shifted his hold and stroked Harry along the injured portion of his face, the skin knitting beneath his touch. "Malfoy, what--"

" _Mine_ ," Malfoy snarled as Ishimura advanced on them slowly. "Mine."

Ishimura gave him a careful look and then addressed Harry.

"Please calm him, Potter. Trask, kindly take your partner to the infirmary and tell Auror Moody that his presence is required."

"Um." Harry tried to think of calming words but Malfoy was _nuzzling_ him, his nose warm against the crook of Harry's neck, the frame of his glasses pressing against Harry's jaw. He gasped as Malfoy inhaled deeply and then a low rumble started in Malfoy's chest as some of the other students stepped forward. "Draco, no. I'm alright now, really. You can check."

He squirmed against Malfoy's tight embrace and the hold loosened a little, allowing Harry to turn around in the circle of his arms. Malfoy was still staring at the remainder of the class with a threatening glint. Harry touched his cheek with one hand and Malfoy's gaze, the silver of his eyes almost overblown with the black of pupil, fixed on him.

"Hey," Harry said and Malfoy pulled him close, no space at all between their bodies. Malfoy pressed his lips against the part of Harry's face that had been injured and Harry sighed, not caring that they were this close to _snogging_ in front of the entire class. He felt content, safe. Warm.

"It's okay," he murmured as Malfoy moved just a little more, dragging his mouth over Harry's damp skin, pausing at the edge of Harry's mouth.

Suddenly, Malfoy released him and shoved him away, staring at Harry with a stricken expression. Harry stepped forward in nearly reflexive doggedness, intending to comfort him or _something_ , but Malfoy turned his head and pressed it into the stone surface.

"Potter! Malfoy!" Moody yelled and Malfoy jumped, bumping his forehead on the wall. "My office. Now."

  
 **:: :: ::**  


"Again, my deepest apologies," Malfoy said stiffly as Harry ordered another drink for them. They were ensconced safely in one of the private booths at the Hogshead and the waitress winked at them as she placed their bottles down. Malfoy inspected the label of his drink, sighed heavily and then took a delicate sip. "I thought I had it under control. But--"

"It's fine," Harry said and then grinned. "Luckily Moody thought it was a wonderful demonstration of Protecting Your Partner. Looks like kissing is an approved method." He smiled as Malfoy gave him a quick, uncertain look.

"He only said that to placate the rest of the class. He knows what I am." Malfoy shrugged as he took another sip, longer this time. "It must have been scary."

Harry played with his napkin and then looked at Malfoy from under his lashes.

"No. It wasn't. It felt... nice." Feeling emboldened and just a little drunk on Malfoy's presence, he toed off one of his shoes and touched Malfoy's ankle. The curve of the bone felt nice under his sock-clad toes and he pressed a little harder. Malfoy was staring at him, lips parted.

"Potter. Harry," he strangled out and Harry felt a little thrill. "What are you doing?"

"I'm flirting? At least, I think I am. I'm not too good at it, I guess."

"You're better than you think," Malfoy snapped and then tucked his feet away. Harry stared at his flushing face and did not stop to think at all. It was a Potter thing, maybe. Definitely a Potter thing.

He quickly shuffled around the padded seat to press right against Malfoy, who tried to get out but was restrained by Harry's hand on his arm.

"Unhand me, Potter," he demanded, but the breathy tone was detrimental to this command. Harry's mouth was pressed against his jawbone, sharp under Harry's lips. Malfoy was taller and physically stronger, but Harry seemed to have him pinned under the force of his mouth alone. Harry murmured something unintelligible against Malfoy's face, one hand still fixed on his arm, the other tipping his face around gently. He pulled off Draco's glasses and then his own.

"Draco, wait," Harry said softly as he felt the other man go rigid. "No, just. Let me--" and he kissed Draco soundly, who gave a tense whimper and then grabbed onto Harry, hands roaming feverishly over Harry's back, pressing forward until Harry leaned back happily, delighting in Draco's tongue stroking in his mouth. He curled his tongue daringly and sampled Draco's groan.

He slipped his hand in-between their bodies and pressed an awkward hand against Draco's erection and for the second infuriating time that day, Draco pushed him away.

"You... I can't believe you did that," Draco gasped, fumbling for his glasses. Harry had an irrational urge to take it and hide it in his pants, just so those long fingers could be groping around Harry's cock. "You're not supposed to _do_ that, Potter and you're making me feel out of sorts."

"What?" Harry stared at him. "What the hell are you on about? I want you, you want me, and I think it’s obvious, so why can't we do what we want? Is it because of this partner thing?"

Malfoy gave him an incredulous stare and then glared at him in disgust as he stood up.

"So much for Gryffindor loyalty," he sneered and dug in the pockets of his robes to fling a few Galleons onto the table. "Don't touch me again, Potter. Ever. Or I'll let Calpernium take out the rest of your face."

Harry stared at his back as he stalked around the crowd, actually shoving people out of his way before he slammed through the entrance door.

  
 **:: :: ::**  


Harry was feeling quite miserable. All through the first month of their training, Draco had ignored him completely, even going as far as asking Moody to allow them to exchange partners. Moody had refused, which meant that Harry still got to sit beside him nearly every day, trying to make conversation through the Moody's bellows. Whenever they had physical sparring, Draco held nothing back, leaving Harry nearly exhausted and very unhappy.

"One month celebration!" Ron yelled as Harry staggered into the flat, weaving a little. "We're going to keep a party for you, Harry. You've made it this far, you'll be sure to finish the course. _Constant Vigilance_!" he screamed in an eerily correct mockery of Moody and Harry snickered tiredly. Ron stuck his head near the fireplace and started talking excitedly to Hermione as Harry stumbled to bed.

The next day, Harry was wondering if he had actually _agreed_ to this party business. Ron had expanded the living area to accommodate all their guests and people were milling around with relaxed familiarity. He perked up a little when Susan ushered Pansy and Draco in, the both of them looking supremely uncomfortable to be surrounded by so many Gryffindors.

"Congrats to you too, Ferret-face!" Ron bellowed, raising his glass and Draco smiled weakly. He caught Harry's eye and a carefully blank mask settled over his features; Harry sighed and made no move to approach him.

Hermione was trying to get everyone's attention and Pansy, annoyance displayed over her face, cast a _Sonorous_ and bellowed at everyone to shut the hell up.

"Um...thanks, Parkinson," Hermione said and then beamed at the room. "Never turn down a chance for a party, right? I just want to congratulate Harry and Draco for completing their first month of Auror training. Considering how hard they worked in the war, this should be easy for them."

The gathering cheered and Hermione motioned for quiet again.

"And congrats to Ron and Susan! I know they've been bonded for awhile now, but the _actual_ wedding ceremony is finally going to take place next month. Yes, I know, time enough--"

"What?" Everyone turned to look at Draco, who stood blinking in surprise, glasses slipping down his nose. Hermione looked disgruntled at being interrupted. "Weasley?! You're bonded to _Bones_?"

“See, _that’s_ why you have to take my name,” Ron told Susan primly, who shook her head at him. “Yeah, Malfoy. Surprised?”

“Er,” Draco said, his gaze shifting to Harry, who was staring back at him with dawning comprehension. “No. Of course not. Congratulations.”

Now it was Harry’s turn to dodge Draco, doing it with a grim annoyance boiling in the pit of his stomach. That _prat_ had thought that _he_ had been with _Ron_... and was still finding time to try and chat up Draco. He supposed that to a Veela, this was a fairly big thing but he still could have _asked_. Finally, Harry ducked down the corridor and closed his bedroom door against the raucous noise of celebration.

He was whirled around and dragged to the bed, finding himself on his back and pinned down by Draco’s strong body, knees on the outsides of his thighs.

“Get off me,” he spat, pushing at Draco’s shoulders ineffectually. He wasn’t even trying, anyway, but Draco still grasped him by the wrists and pressed them into the soft covers of his bed. Harry was gathering up the right amount of his magic to shove Draco off him without blasting him through the wall, when Draco placed a surprisingly chaste kiss on his forehead, right over the faded scar.

Draco said, “I thought he was with you.”

Harry thrashed a little, for effect. “Instead of being a right idiot, you could have simply asked. Aren’t Veelas supposed to sense bonds?”

“I’m not a full Veela, dammit, and I thought you were trying to cheat on him!” Draco retorted and Harry glared up at him, stung. “I’ve heard... things about you. That you have a tendency for sleeping around. Nobody wants a tramp for a mate.”

“ _God_ , I hate it when people just gossip and not know the truth. I hardly call two relationships _sleeping around_. For the record...wait, wait. I think you said something about wanting a mate.”

Draco smiled, the dim light of the bedroom lamp glinting off his glasses and Harry shivered.

“Hmm, yes. Did you know, since I was eleven, I’ve had a thing for green eyes?”

“Huh? Okay, that’s good to know.” Harry felt his wrists being freed and without thinking he slung them up around Draco’s neck. “But how do you know that I’m mateable?”

“That’s not a word,” Draco scoffed, resting down on Harry to grind temptingly down onto him. Harry let out a faint moan, more breath than sound as Draco’s hips moved slowly, maddeningly with his. “But if that _was_ a word, then yes, you’re mateable. Easy on the eyes. Magically strong. Clever in times of need--”

“Gee, thanks,” Harry muttered and Draco took the opportunity to murmur a spell that undid every button on both their clothes. Draco sat back, pulling off his shirt and trousers hurriedly while Harry scrambled out of his, yanking his boxers down his hips and slinging them across the room. Draco laughed low as he levitated their glasses to rest on the bedside table.

“Eager much?” He rumbled, settling back between Harry’s thighs.

“If you would only stop with the _talking_ ,” Harry said. “ _Lubricus_. And don’t think I’m going to just fall into your arms and be your mate. You’ll have to prove yourself.”

“Strong words for someone who wants my cock so bad he can _taste_ it,” Draco returned, kneeling to push Harry’s legs up and stroke at his entrance. Harry bit his lip to muffle his gasps, writhing as fingers dipped in and twirled. He could feel when the fingers retreated and the slick blunt head of Draco’s cock pressed at his hole.

“I’ll trust you as I would trust myself.” Draco slid inside him slowly, burning his way in. Harry whispered his name and reached down between them to fondle with his balls.

“Protect you as I would protect myself.” Sliding out and in again, starting up a cadence of sensation inside Harry

“Oh, my heart,” Harry said half-mockingly, hardly able to talk, and Draco increased his pace as punishment, drawing a moan out of Harry with every breath. He was writhing deliciously below Draco, flexible enough to sling one leg over Draco’s shoulder and drag him deeper. His eyes were half-open when he finally arched up and came, wet heat spluttering between them. He clenched around Draco’s thrusting cock, dragging a wildly shuddering orgasm out of the other man, until Draco slumped against him, panting.

“So will we be old and bold together?” Harry asked as soon as he got his breath back, stroking idly through Draco’s hair. Draco said something against his neck. “So sorry, I don’t speak mumble.”

He yelped as Draco gave him a soft bite and then turned his head.

“Of course,” Draco said sleepily. “You’re my partner.”

fin 

**Author's Note:**

>  _In umbra, igitur, pugnabimus_ : In the shadows, therefore, we will fight  
> [motto of The First Artillery Detachment of the United States Army.]


End file.
